Hip-hop artist Kanye West rebuts Bonnaroo critics

Kanye West defended himself from criticism over his delayed performance at Bonnaroo, saying on his blog that the flak he’s taken has left him “the most offended I’ve ever been.”

West’s performance at the Tennessee festival was scheduled for 2:45 a.m. in the early morning of June 15. West didn’t take the stage until 4:25 a.m., angering much of the crowd who had stayed up late to see the rapper perform.

The delay was caused by problems setting up West’s elaborate stage set, which included an interplanetary landscape of a wavy black platform and a video screen above. Pearl Jam, who had performed on the main stage earlier that evening, also went an hour over its scheduled time. While waiting for West’s concert to begin, many in the crowd pelted the stage with glow sticks and beer.

At the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, which traditionally has favored jam bands, West’s delayed show became a kind of rallying point, leading to “Kanye sucks” chants and criticism from pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph, who played later the same day.

Writing Tuesday on his blog at www.kanyeuniversity.com in almost all caps, West said he was offended that anyone would think he doesn’t care about his fans and blamed the delay on festival organizers.

“This Bonnaroo thing is the worst insult I’ve ever had in my life,” West wrote. “This is the most offended I’ve ever been ... this is the maddest I ever will be.”

West was critical of the festival for not releasing a statement in his defense.